Books and Products

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Hi friends! This blog is for teachers and families- all for the sheer joy of literacy. When we are enthusiastic about reading and writing our students and our own kids become excited to read and write. I hope that we all can be models for those in our care- how did you show your passion for reading, writing, learning, language, or words today?? It's in those small, daily moments that we teach kids to love literacy.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Recent Book Favs (1)

I know...It's been a long while. Does life get busy, or what? I'm actually supposed to be grading right now, but I said, heck with it!, I'm gonna do some blogging instead!

My husband tells me not to lament about a busy life, that it's a tired complaint. I agree! But here I go anyways- September was a rough and tumble month in my little world! I started a new job as the Director of Education at a local non-profit ministry, Harbor House. I'm 60%, which means I get to spend more time with my almost 3-year-old, but I'm definitely kept busy, even with more mommy-daughter chill time (surprise, surprise!!). Also we started my daughter at a local co-op preschool. So fun! But, also a lot of work! Also my hubby and I teach an online literacy development and assessment class for a credential program. The class runs August-October, so we're online quite often managing the class. WOW! Online teaching is rewarding, but also very time consuming. Oh, I also joined a fab book club last month!! And, a big joy for us, I am 25 weeks preggars. I'm incubating a little baby boy- which we all are thrilled about. My toddler is especially thrilled, and interacts with the baby a lot. So, that's where I've been!

I had to share some books we've been enjoying as a family lately. My daughter loves reading before bed each night, and definitely has book favorites. She tends to like to read library books over the books we already have. We have some good books, but the library books win out every night!

Recent Book Favs:

One Naked Baby, by Maggie Smith
This book has stolen my daughter's heart. What can be a better than a naked baby's adventures? I love that this book counts up to ten, and the counts back down to 1 again. My daughter's vocabulary is very development, but her number sense is not quite as strong. So, I'm all for a book that my daughter likes that is also a counting book. Here's some of the text, "ONE naked baby,/ TWO fat cats,/ THREE laundry baskets,/ FOUR silly hats,/ FIVE toes for tickling..." Each one of these lines of text has a page devoted to it, with very detailed illustrations. The baby is on each page being fun and silly- this is what my daughter loves. She can sit with this book for 20 minutes+ just studying the pictures, and that is not something she'll do with most books. And of course, my daughter loves that the book starts and ends with the baby naked in the bath...it makes her smile with glee every time!

Caps for Sale, by Esphyr Slobodkin
Who doesn't love this one! We got it from the library, and now I know why it's a classic. my daughter instantly felt bonded to this book: the refrain of "Caps for Sale", the silly monkeys up to monkey business, and the Tsz, Tsz Tszing of the peddler. I have gotten a kick out of my daughter randomly taking the phrase, "Caps for sale!" and making it her own. We were at a cafe, and we passed the trash can, and she said, "Trash for sale!" Don't you love how books and good writing weasels its way into all aspects of you little one's talk!

Five Little Ducks, Illustrated by Ivan Bates
This is another fav! We all know this preschool song. This gets such a high rating from my daughter because it is a book that we sing with her. She loves it, and sings most of it herself. The illustrations are soft, warm, and lovely.

This is the House that Was Tidy & Neat, by Teri Sloat, illustrated by R.W. Alley
This is a super big hit in out house, and my daughter has memorized large sections of it in the few weeks that we've had it. I am amazed that her comprehension is so spot on too- because when she makes a mistake when she's "reading" it with us, her mistakes always make sense. I love the rhythm and flow of the text in this book: "This is the house.../At the end of the street, That was tidy and neat, When mom left./ this is the mouse, Who lives in the wall, Twitching his whiskers, And watching crumbs fall, In the cozy old house, At the end of the street, That was tidy and neat when mom left." And so on... The illustrations are also lively, which I am finding are just the kind of illustrations that my daughter adores.

3 comments:

You definitely are one busy mama!! I am always surprised at how much you manage with your schedule. =)So the Five Little Ducks book, is that the only about "five little ducks went out to play..."? My daughter is so freaked out by that song because the father duck loses all his ducks. She won't even let me hum it. Even when I tell her that he finds them all... funny the things they grab on to.

hi friend!!! I am hoping life slows down though...I am trying to be better about saying no.

In this story all the ducks come back, which of course is a much better ending!! Little miss gets sad when mother duck loses all the ducks too. I'll have to upload a video of this, she's pretty funny making her sad face for mama duck!